Veep Forced to Cast Deciding Vote to Confirm DeVos Nomination

FEATURING KEVIN KUMASHIRO – Despite Senate Democrats valiantly holding the floor of the Senate on Monday night to stop the confirmation of billionaire Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary, the Trump nominee was confirmed. But it took a vote by Vice President Mike Pence to break the 50-50 tie.

Joining Democrats in opposing DeVos’s nomination were two Republican Senators: Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. All that was needed was one more Republican to stop the nomination but in spite of furious phone calling by public education advocates across the nation, the rest of the GOP held firm.

Kevin Kumashiro, former dean of the School of Education at the University of San Francisco, a leading expert on educational policy, school reform, teacher preparation, and educational equity and social justice and the education correspondent for Rising Up With Sonali.